Night of the Diablos
by ZorpoxTheConqueror
Summary: Ever wonder what Global Justice was doing during Drakken's attack in So the Drama?
1. Chapter 1

_Originally, this story was just to give a quick little battle, action over what happened with GJ on the night of the Diablos. It's ballooned out from that, into a three chapter story, instead of the one shot I was planning, exploring what happened during and after, and the choices the Director was forced to wrestle with, considering everything that happened._

_I'll admit, none of this was planned from the start, but I realized, that after what happened here, Dr Director would probably have her own questions about what she could have done better, what she should have done, how she should have protected people._

_Note: This assumes you're at least familiar with So the Drama, so if you haven't see it, check it out, this'll wait-and it'll make more sense, too._

_And thanks to Eddy13 for beta checking._

* * *

The attack started at 10:58 pm.

"What the heck is that thing?"

"Back up, back up! It's coming this way!"

"Johnson is down, he's down, someone get him!"

"Forget Johnson, open fire!" Agent Dawes motioned his agents backwards, away from the giant machine, quickly pulling his service sidearm and opening fire. The first few laser blasts bounced off, and soon a handful of other shots joined it. The weapon fire didn't penetrate the black and red chasis of the robot, but it did cause it to stagger backwards a few steps. At the pause, Dawes moved forwards, firing another burst of shots, looking to his left.

"Manfriti! Get Johnson, we'll cover you." He pumped another three shots into the machine's head, finally causing it to fall backwards with a room shaking thud. At the same time, the female agent leapt forward, getting her hands on her fellow agent's leg, pulling him out of the room. Dawes motioned the rest of the agents out of the room, still firing as the thing got to its feet.

Agent Dawes cursed, quickly flipping a switch on his sidearm, then tossing it into the room. He dived sideways out of the doorway, and barely two second later, the weapon exploded, destroying everything in the room.

Or nearly everything. As the agents in the hallway started to get to their feet, they watched in horror as the machine stepped out of the doorway, dark black smoke pouring out after it. The robot was now almost completely black, scorches running over its head and chest. Dawes crawled to his feet, taking a few staggering steps down the hallway until he made it to a small wall mounted door. He reached to the side, opening a panel that he rapidly typed in a pass code. The door to his left immediately opened, and he reached in, pulling out a large energy rifle. He turned, flipped the power to high, and fired a blast.

The shot rang out through the hallway, much louder than the alarms that had begun blaring after the explosion. This time there was a noticeable effect; the shot impacted the robot in the chest, and the machine staggered backwards, a smoking hole in its center. Dawes fired a second shot, destroying its head just to be sure. Finally the robot fizzled and stopped.

Dawes leaned against the wall, the rifle still dangling in his hand, pointed to the floor. At nearly the same time, Dr Director came running around the corner, a half dozen agents accompanying her, armed to the teeth. She immediately took in the scene, then moved over to stand next to Dawes supporting him. "Report, what happened?"

The agents in the hallway struggled to come to attention, but the director waved them off. Dawes gave a small smirk at that, and shook his head before explaining. "I don't know. We were just going through some of the training exercises when that...thing seemed to appear out of nowhere and start attacking." He got his feet under him, finally shaking off the effects of the explosion in the confined area. He followed the director forward as she looked at the charred chassis of the robot, then looking at him.

Dawes was a man of middle age, not that you could tell by his looks. Only a slight graying around his temples let anyone know the man was anything other than in his prime. Standing at almost six food exactly, he didn't tower over people by any means, but his sheer presence drew everyone's attention. He wore a close cut Van Dyke beard, and more than one of his trainees had mention he looked like he would be more home in WWEE than in GJ. Some had voiced that assessment louder after being put through his training.

Agent Dawes was the armed and unarmed combat instructor at Global Justice. While technically the director of combat and weaponry, Dawes preferred a more relaxed stance on titles, wanting to be referred to as agent, or simply Dawes. He said that it allowed him to still feel useful-especially since he still occasionally liked to go on missions for GJ. Despite his rather lax feel on titles, Dawes was the strictest instructor at Global Justice, and his agents loved him all the more for it. He would willingly give his all for them, and they would do no less for him.

His results spoke for themselves, as well. Nearly every GJ agent had been trained by Dawes as some point in their career, even the Director herself. She was unsure how long he had been serving in GJ, but she knew that he had been an agent long before she had taken her own position as chief director. At least, that's about all his records said, after the previous director had deleted nearly all the information about him stored in the base computers.

Finally the director turned her attention back to the training room.

She turned and gave him a brief smile. "Is this your way of telling me we need to upgrade our equipment?"

As he joined her in looking in the room, he chuckled. "I've been telling you we need some upgrades. Never figured I'd get my wish this soon." Turning serious, he looked at the Director. "I'm not sure what happened, I was out on the mat, maybe I missed something. Lets see if anyone else saw something." Dr Director nodded back, moving back to her agents in the hall.

The two quickly queried the rest of the agents; most of them had no idea what happened, but finally one of them spoke up.

"I don't know if it means anything, but that thing sort of looked like a bigger version of the Diablos my son got at Bueno Nacho. He got an extra one and gave it to me, so I had it sitting in my locker. Hadn't had time to put it on my desk yet."

Betty Director smiled at that, knowing her own problems with getting everything done that she wanted. She started to turn back around, to inspect the room, when she heard a sound from the radio at her hip. She pulled it off the clip, listening. "Director, this is Agent Du. You'd better get up here, Ma'am, we've got a problem."

She turned and shared a look with Dawes, a feeling of dread running through her. She quickly took off running down the hall, Dawes right behind her.

X X X X

They made it to the command center in record time, both agents bursting through the doors just as Will Du came to his feet. Waving off the agent's attempt at proper protocol, Dr Director quickly reached the center of the room.

Du started explaining. "We've got all sorts of activity across the board in Middleton, something's going on. Reports of some sort of red and black robots terrorizing around the city. We've got cameras confirming it now." He nodded to a technician nearby, and soon a number of images appeared on the screen.

Dawes nodded and pointed. "That's it. That's the thing that attacked us. Du?"

Will nodded, looking over some reports. "We've gotten reports that this thing seemed to be some sort of bigger version of the little Diablos being given out from Bueno Nacho. They seem to be loaded with all sorts of weaponry. So far, no list of casualties, they primarily seem to be converging on these two areas of the city."

Dr Director's eyes got wide and she cursed. "That's Kim Possible's house." She tapped the other screen. "And Wade Load lives here. Get me everything you can on her activities over the last few days."

"On it, Director." Dawes quickly took a seat, going through what information he could. Another agent interrupted Betty before she could say anything else.

"I've pinpointed a command signal, Director, it seems to be coming from the Bueno Nacho in town. No, wait." She put a hand to her ear, listening. "It's stopped."

Du was listening as well, and he turned. "The Diablos seem to have been disabled, Ma'am, I'm getting reports that they've been reduced to small size."

The Director paused for half a second in thought, before she stood up. "All right, we've got a window people, let's use it. Since they're disabled, it sounds like Kim and Ron have managed to stop these little Diablos-but I'll bet my job that this isn't over yet. Du, get down to the armory, and get every agent you can get you hands on. Get to the hoverjets. I'll be down in ten minutes." He nodded and was out of the room in seconds, tossing his headset to the table.

Dr Director turned back to Dawes, noting he was already focused on her. He quickly filled the director in on the past few days, noting all of Kim's activities. They both mulled things over. "Dr Drakken?"

He nodded back. "Definitely. It sounds like he was using Bueno Nacho to put them out."

Betty Director grimaced. "This isn't good. If he's been sending them all out as toys, he could have millions of these things ready to attack." She thought back to the single Diablo a few floors down, and what it had taken to stop it. "He could succeed this time."

Dawes shook his head. "They'll stop him, you know. They always do."

She nodded back. "I hope you're right, for the world's sake. But I can't just sit and do nothing, either."

He grinned. "Of course not." His smile disappeared. "But even if you can get a hundred agents equipped, that won't be enough to stop them all."

She turned, making her way to the door. Betty paused long enough to flash him a small, rogueish smile. "Maybe not, but we can try. Dawes, you're in command until I get back."

The Director left before he ever had a chance to acknowledge her order.

X X X X

Betty Director reached the hanger just a few seconds shy of her ten minute deadline. She quickly suited up, joining the rest of the group in her hoverjet. She made her way to the cockpit, noting that Du was already in the pilot's seat. She joined him as copilot, then signaled the operator to open the hanger door. Within seconds, the four hoverjets were in the air, filled to the brim with GJ agents.

The lead hoverjet quickly received a call from the command center. "Director, this is Dawes, those things are operational again. Whatever Kim and Ron did, it didn't last. You called that one."

She spoke back into her microphone. "We both knew this wasn't over yet. Give me a sit rep."

He nodded, although she couldn't see the motion, and gave her the situation report. "The signal's coming from somewhere about a hundred miles west of here-nearest I can pinpoint, it looks like Bueno Nacho HQ." Neither one of them was surprised.

"What about the Diablos?"

"Back on their rampage. I'm receiving hundreds of reports, across the globe now. There's no way you're going to be able to stop them worldwide."

The Director's eyes set. "Well then what about just in Middleton?"

"For a resistance HQ? My thought's exactly. I see four major sites we need to protect, Director. First the power grid-we need to protect the powerplant. We could use the backup generators here at the HQ, but trying to power the entire city would put a strain on things. The city's already lost a few power lines, but things still seem to be running pretty well."

He continued, running down his checklist. "Second, the hospital. Whatever happens in the next few hours and days, we're going to need all the medical supplies we can get our hands on-and qualified doctors will be a bonus."

"Third, I think we should get a detail in the heart of the city, to try and disrupt those robots as much as they can. They should also focus on locating Wade Load, the Possibles, and the Stoppables and securing their houses. Between all their skills, they could be a real asset to our activities; and if Kim and Ron don't succeed, and don't return, we'll need all the help we can get."

He check his diagrams, tapped the screen twice, then spoke again. "Last is the space center. Worst case scenario, we might be able to use the shuttles and aircraft there to retreat to the space station or some other location. There's also a lot of technology there that we might be able to use to interrupt or even disable the Diablos' signal."

She nodded, agreeing with his assessment, giving each of the hoverjets their missions. She turned to Du last, then looked at the radar. "Du, get us to the space center as quickly as you can." Betty sat back, musing over her choices. She could try and make a run to Bueno Nacho HQ, but she knew that the odds were against them. It was quite a distance, and with the number of Diablos active now, she knew that they would be lucky to make it to the space center.

X X X X

Lucky indeed.

Dr Director brushed some hair out of her face, wincing at the small burn across her cheek. That last attack had come too close.

The Director and her team had been forced down almost six blocks from the Middleton Space Center. It might as well have been six miles for all the headway they were making. Once grounded, the Diablos had swarmed the GJ agents. The agents had responded together, as a team, and had quickly made their way outside the downed craft, into a nearby building. Now they were firing out from the windows, the Diablos returning fire from the street. A few had attempted to force their way inside, by stairways, and most recently the windows. The latter had caused the director her injuries.

A medic stepped forward to try and attend to her, but she waved the man off. They couldn't worry about something as simple as burns at a time like this. She fired off a few more quick shots, then looked at Du, the agent across the window from her. "Any bright ideas?"

He shook his head, leaning out and fired a few times as well, coolly dispatching two of the robots. They had quickly learned that a service pistol, set on high energy disrupt, seemed to disable the Diablos. The machines had quickly learned as well, and had begun carting off their disabled brethren, returning them to operational within a few minutes. The attacks would fry their electronics, but the Hephaestus project allowed them to regenerate with the help of other Diablos.

The director had only recently made the connection about the project, after getting in contact with Wade. The other GJ teams were faring much better; the hospital and powerplant were secured, and after a fierce fight, Wade, the Possibles, and the Stoppables had all been located. They had all been evacuated back to GJ headquarters, in the hopes that the location could be protected much better. Instead, the Diablos had followed, and they were now attacking GJ HQ.

Fortunately, Dawes was up to the task, and GJ was safe for now, so that was one less problem for Dr Director. "Come on, Du, follow me to the roof." She had one of the other agents take charge, and quickly climbed up. Once on the top of the building, the two looked around, trying to figure out some way of getting off the roof, and towards their target, but they were stumped. The director heard a burst of static, then a voice came over her head set. She looked towards Du in surprise.

"Dr Director, this Wade Load. I think I've got a way for you to get out of there. Check out the bottom floor of the building, in the basement. I've got a diagram that shows there is supposed to be a small holdout shelter there, it's got access to the buildings next to it, and you should be able to make your way about half the way to the Space Center underground. Then you'll have to cross the rest of the way above ground, on foot."

"Got it Wade." By this point, they were already at the basement, and were working on the door. Du grunted, finally getting the door to break loose, and they stood at the entrance. "Dawes, we might lose contact for a few minutes." The director paused, then frowned, feeling a pit in her stomach. "Dawes?"

Wade's voice came back. "Sorry, Director, he's rather busy."

X X X X

Agent Dawes slid under the Diablos feet, quickly rolling and coming up, firing a shot that took the robot in the side, disabling it. He spun as another, smaller one made a grab at him. It staggered forward, and he placed his sidearm against the back of its head, then pulled the trigger. It stuttered a step, then fell forward, out of commission.

The man looked down the hall, gauging his agents, as well as the robots attacking. They had managed to lock down GJ's main doors, and stay barricaded inside, but now the Diablos had forced their way into the complex. The hallway entrance was lined with GJ agents, and they had kept the robots back for a time. Now, however, the Diablos had attacked in force, and the Global Justice agents were retreating.

Dawes himself stayed towards the front, shepherding everyone behind him, back towards the command center. He kept them moving, firing at the Diablos, making a strategic withdraw; he hoped that they could gather in the command center, and use the armored room as a safe location. They had nearly reached the command center when one of the agents had called out in alarm.

Agent Dawes turned, quickly spotting the problem. They had been cut off from the other side, just in front of the doors to the command center. The man heard the stomping of metallic feet from behind him, knowing they were about to attacked from both sides. He set his feet, preparing for the attack, when a shot hit one of the Diablos blocking their way. A second and third blast caused the robots to spin. Seeing the opportunity, Dawes motioned his people forward.

As the weapons director moved in, he caught sight of two young boys, quickly realizing that the twin Possible sons had come to their rescue. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, he herded the last of the agents towards the command center, then turned to look back, dodging a high swinging arm that intended to take off his head. He watched the buzzsaw spin uselessly against the ceiling. At the same time, he lowered his weapon, firing a blast into the Diablo's leg. The limb shattered, tipping the machine forward.

As Dawes stood over the robot, he grumbled to himself. "Leaving me in charge...Never again, Betty. I'm getting too old for this." He fired again into the robot, ensure it was disabled.

X X X X

Dawes quickly entered the command center, spotting Wade and Mr Dr Possible working in the center of the room. They were bent over a computer screen, and as he neared, Dawes realized that they were talking with the Director. The weapons director took inventory of what they had in the room, then approached the two geniuses. "What've we got?"

"Problems." Wade shook his head. "I've lost all contact with Kim. On top of that, Dr Possible and I have been trying to hack into the signal from Bueno Nacho. No luck, Drakken seems to have hardwired everything into that tower-there's really no computer system we can hack into here-it's basically off the grid."

He nodded. "What was the last you heard from Kim and Ron?"

The genius winced. "They were inside, but something happened after that. The Kimmunicator is being jammed, so I've got no feed from inside. I hacked into a few cameras in some of the buildings nearby; I was able to get some shots of this large window near the top of the building." He dipped his head a bit. "I caught a number of green flashes. I'd say Kim and Shego were fighting. Nothing since then, and it's been almost a half an hour."

The Director's voice piped over the headset Dawes had recently acquired. "Sounds like Kim and Ron have failed. Time for Plan B."

"We're all ears, Director."


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N** Well, I've got to admit I'm surprised at the responses I received about using a nuke as Plan B. Not that I think she wouldn't condone it if that was the only choice, but I don't see her as that ruthless. Plus using a weapon like that didn't occur to me._

_This chapter was a lot of fun to write, a lot more action that I've really done in most of my other stories._

_And thanks to Eddy13 for beta checking._

* * *

GJ's director grimaced to herself. If only she did have a plan. As it stood now, she doubted whether they would be able to make it to the space center without getting overrun by the Diablos. The machines had quickly realized that the GJ agents had stopped firing from the building they were in, and there were enough of them roving around that they had located the agent's new building. Now they were pretty much back in their original situation. Shaking her head, she looked over at Du.

Will shook his head. "Maybe we should just pull back. We've secured the other locations, and besides, the headquarters is under attack. We should go back and support them, force the Diablos out."

Dawes disagreed, but he couldn't see any other options. "We need that space center, Director, it could make a decisive difference in the future. Unfortunately, Du is right; if you can't take control of the space center soon, and draw off some of the focus on GJ, we're going to be over run here." Inside the command center, Dawes looked to the main doors, noting that they had begun glowing a dull red. "Whatever you're going to do, you'd better do it fast."

The Director shook her head. "We're just going to have to go for it, lay down as much cover fire as we can, and hope that some of us can make it to the space center." She turned to one of her agents. "Take half of the agents and keep firing, see if you can buy us some time and cover. Du, you're with me, we'll try and punch through the center. They might not be expecting a frontal assault."

Dr Director's group made their way downstairs, poised at the main entrance, ready to make their exit. Betty grimaced, not liking their odds. Taking a quick breath, she motioned her agents forward, and they charged out into the street.

The Diablos, not expecting the attack, backed away, and the GJ agents were able to disable a number of the robots. Dr Director led the charge, firing a number of shots to keep the machines back; once they were past the forefront of the robots, the agents turned, backing down the sides of the street, using everything they could find as cover. The Director dropped behind a newspaper stand, popping up to fire as she watched Du make his way towards her, then past her as he found his own cover. She took the opportunity to seek her next cover as well, and the GJ agents made their way down the street, the Diablos in pursuit.

As Betty backed up a few more steps, she realized that the Diablos were getting closer. A few had stayed behind to attack the agents in the building, but the rest were following, and gaining ground. The robots could take quite a few hits, depending on the strength of the GJ weapons fire, and as such weren't staying down. Dr Director stood and fired off three quick shots, then winced as she heard a number of loud noises from behind her.

Spinning in place, she realized that her group had nearly backed into a contingent of Middleton police officers. She quickly hurried to crouch behind one of the parked cruisers blocking the street, and turned to the man nearby. He popped up to fire a few shots at the robots, keeping them back, then smirked at the director.

"Fancy meeting you here."

Betty fired a few shots off herself, sighing in relief, "Officer Hobble, long time no see. How have your daughters been?"

He chuckled. "The oldest is just deciding that she might like boys. The youngest wants to be just like Kim."

The Director mumbled under her breath. "Don't we all." She turned, firing her weapon at a lightpost nearby, causing the base to blow out. The pole fell, slamming into three Diablos, taking them out.

Meanwhile, the police officer looked over. "Speaking of Kim, where is she?"

Betty motioned vaguely. "Best case scenario? Probably captured, so I don't know if we can count on her help."

Hobble shook his head. "She usually pulls through, I'm sure she'll think of something." He stood, firing and emptying his clip; he spun around, back to the car, and quickly reloaded. "I think between us and your agents we can hold these things here for a while. Take a couple of your agents and see if you can secure the space center." He flashed a grin. "I assume that's where you were heading?"

She chuckled, nodding, not taking the time to explain. Betty turned, then shouted over to another car.

"Du, get over here, we're going to make a break for the space center, they'll cover us."

Will nodded, and as the Director took off, he was soon in step with her. They left the sounds of the firefight behind them. After a couple of minutes, there were within sight of the command center, the large building beckoning them.

"Not the night I had planned." Du panted from beside the director, still looking around for any danger.

She chuckled back, just as out of breath. "What, you had a hot date?"

Will flushed for a second, and it had nothing to do with his exhaustion. "N-not exactly, no. Well..."

Betty blinked in surprise, nearly missing a step. "You did have a date?" While she wasn't surprised that her agents had a life beyond GJ, she was surprised that Du had something going on, especially considering he was known in GJ as the stuffiest and most overbearing agent ever. "With who?"

He gave a non-commital shrug. "A blond I met at a science convention, very analytical, with a very focused attitude. I thought we hit it off pretty well." As the director considered someone else like Will Du, she shuddered. The agent missed the motion, instead continuing, "It was going to be our first date, well, night out together, but I guess we're going to have to put it off-"

Suddenly interrupting their conversation, Du dived forward, tackling his superior. They both went down hard, but it was much preferable to the buzzsaw that would have taken off their heads. The Director, even surprised, managed to roll with the tackle, coming to her feet. They were surrounded, three Diablos seeming to appear out of thin air. Two were flanking them, while a third was directly in front, covering the door to the space center. The Director never broke stride, firing repeatedly, hitting the lead Diablo a dozen times.

It staggered backwards, and Betty flipped a switch on her weapon, adding more force to her blasts. They penetrated the diablo's armor, riddling it with holes. She fired a few more times, until her side arm clicked empty, completely discharged. She chucked the empty weapon at the Diablo, and it fell backwards, disabled from the damage.

Threat neutralized, she reached her left hand behind her back, grasping for her backup weapon. She quickly pulled it out, firing without really paying attention as she backed up to the door. She gripped the handle, intent on opening the door, then cursed as she realized that it was locked. She fired her weapon a few times at one of the Diablos, Du focusing on the other, as she tapped her microphone. "Dr Possible, I need an access code for the space center."

He quickly complied, sending her a four digit pass code. She quickly typed the number in, then heard a beeping negative from the security system. She retried the code, and again it didn't work. "It's not working."

"They must have reprogrammed the code or something, sounds like the locks have engaged, and the security system has gone into full lock down."

The Director ducked a swing that would have cut across her throat, then spun and dodged as the Diablo in front of her tried to set her on fire with its flamethrowers. "Looking for options, gentlemen." As she stepped around the side of the robot, she fired a handful of shots at the Diablo fighting Du. It staggered, but stayed upright.

James blurted out another set of digits, and the Director had to raise an eyebrow. "Dr Possible, that's a six number code, don't the pin numbers require four?"

"Try it anyway, it might work."

She started to the door, noting that 'her' diablo had finally turned enough to bring its weapons back to bear. She rushed forward, right at it, sliding under its legs, firing three quick blasts into its thigh armor. The Diablo stuttered stepped, its limb losing functionality. As Betty climbed to her feet, she quickly approached the keypad, inputting the passcode. To her surprise, there was a confirmation beep, and the door clicked open.

"Du, get over here." She motioned him in, then sealed the door behind her, locking the Diablos out. There was a pounding as one tried to get in, but they were safe for the moment. Out of breath, the Director spoke into her headset again. "Where did you get that password, Dr Possible?"

"Oh, well, um..." He stuttered a bit. "After the incident with the monkey ninjas, and Fen, we decided that it might be in everyone's best interest if the space center gave Kim an override code so that she could get in the building. The code's based on her six digit birthday."

Du and the Director shared a look, then turned and headed down the hall. "While I've got you on the line, Dr Possible, is there anything here that you can use to stop the Diablos?"

"I'm not sure. Wade?" The two geniuses conferred for a minute. Finally James continued. "Maybe, we need some way of blocking the Diablos' command signal. The problem is, you're going to need quite a few different parts. The two of us can try and talk you through the work, but it won't be easy. If either one of us was there with you, we could get it done quickly and easily."

She shook her head. "That's a no go, I don't have the agents to escort you here, not in time, anyway." She mused for a second, looking over at her partner. "Guess we'll have to get to work." She looked around, noting the room they were in and passing the information to Dr Possible. He explained where they needed to go, and they set off.

The two agents crept through the halls carefully, watching everything that they could, to ensure that they wouldn't get surprised by the Diablos. Considering the robots had a tendency to appear when least expected, both of them were a little jumpy. That caution paid off as a loud noise from above startled them. They looked up, dodging as three Diablo's fell from the ceiling. They had broken through the roof, somehow determining where the agents were.

Du and Betty fought side by side, both opening fire at the robots. As the Director backed away, she noted that the lead Diablo had scorch marks on its leg, and the limb seemed to be moving much more stiffly than it should. She figured it was probably the one that she'd shot earlier. She fired off another shot, only to watch it glance off the armored head; the blast caught one of the other Diablos, crippling it, and the robot fell forward, smoking.

The two agents backed up slowly, firing at their robotic foes, doing their best to keep them at a distance. It was working, but as soon as the two decided to turn and run, the robots would be on them. Dr Director frowned, as she tried to come up with some other way of dealing with these robots. Finally she noticed a large conduit overheard; as she studied it, she smiled.

Betty raised her weapon, firing upwards into the conduit, a handful of rapid shots that caused the conduit to shatter, the wires inside spilling out. She had damaged a section of the electrical wiring, and now the wiring had fallen around the two Dialos, large bursts of electricity arcing. It didn't harm the robots, but it was an effective way to scramble their sensors.

The electrical energy wreaked havoc with the two robot's optical sensors, and overloaded their processors; the two machines were forced to reboot under the extreme amount of energy coursing through them. Du and Betty backed up, taking the opportunity they had been given. Once a bit away from the robots, the two agents took off at a run, the Diablos unable to follow until after their reboot.

Soon enough, Betty and Du had left the machines behind, and got themselves back on track. They headed through the halls before finally locating the main lab. Noting that the lights were actually on, the two entered quickly, seeing no threat. Betty scanned the room, then gave Du a wave. "Start over there, and I'll check this side of things." No sooner had she said the words, than another loud crash caused her to turn.

Betty looked at the two Diablos entering the room, noting the one with the bad leg. "Great, gimpy's back. Du, get to work, I'll hold them off here." He nodded and got to work, trusting the Director to keep him safe.

Easier said than done, she had no idea how to keep these things busy, and even worse, as she looked at her side arm, she realized she was getting low on power. Fortunately she had a few extra packs, so she fired off a rapid burst of eight shots, depleting her weapon; the impacts made the robots stagger, giving her a brief time to reload. Now ready again, she charged, firing at one, then the other Diablo.

The two machines backed up, some hits burning into their armor, others just being deflected. The Director frowned, cranking her weapon up on high, knowing it would burn through her charge, she fired at the already damaged Diablo, catching it in the head. The blast nearly ripped its head off, revealing the underlying frame of the metal, its eyes and skull scorched and burning as it fell backwards. Betty tried to pull out her weapon clip, but she had been distracted, and the other Diablo got close enough to hit her, sending her sliding across the floor, her weapon sailing away.

The impact had hit the Director in her chest, and she coughed, hacking, trying to breathe. She tried to call for Du, but couldn't get the energy. Spread, on her back, Betty watched as the Diablo stood above her, its open arms leveled at her, glowing green as they charged for a plasma burst. She winced, squinting her eyes at the brightness, waiting for the pain as the weapons fired. Instead, she watched as a long, spear shaped object exploded out of the Diablo's chest, the metal bursting outwards. The director looked closer, as the robot was lifted higher, and she realized that there was another machine standing behind it. This robot lacked the form of the Diablo, instead appearing in a simple gray metal finish.

"Ha! How's that for a little Robot Rumble?" Dr V. F. Porter crowed as her robot slashed a second arm inside the Diablo's chassis, then ripped it apart, flinging the disabled halves away. Once it was safe, she rushed across the floor, reaching down to help Dr Director to her feet. The Director looked at Dr Porter, quickly remembering the woman from one of the briefings she's received on Kim's missions.

"Thank you, Dr Porter." Instantly taking stock of the situation, she looked over towards Will Du. "Do you think you could help us? We're looking to create a jamming field to stop those robots."

The other woman nodded, motioned towards a table that held an amalgam of parts. "I've already been working on something, but I'm having trouble locking down those robot's frequency. I also seem to be having some sort of electrical problems." She paused for a second, then spoke out into the room. "Justine, it's safe now." She turned to the Director. "She was here working with me on a project, and was helping me here when we tried to build the jammer."

At those words, the blond genius came out of a side room, pausing mid-way across the floor as she caught sight of Will Du. The agent froze as well, his surprise mirroring hers. Du seemed to recover his bearing first. "Justine, I didn't expect you to be here."

She let her serious facade slip for a second, giving a small smile. "I was afraid I was going to have to cancel. I don't feel so bad, since you seem to be busy, too." She lost focus for a second. "Besides, it's not often I have a challenge like this..."

She quickly breezed past the agent, making her way over the jammer to work on it, Dr Porter joining her as well. The teen was completely focused on her project, which left Dr Porter to try and explain things.

"Dr Director?" The women stepped a bit closer, as Vivian continued talking. "Okay, as you know, these robots are being operated by some sort of remote control; it enables them to work together, sort of like a hive mind, but they can also work independently of each other as well. Sort of like having an artificial intelligence. The robots themselves seem to be pretty resistance to attack, so even damaging them doesn't always guarantee that they are disabled. I've never seen anything like it."

Betty nodded, interrupting. "It's the Hephaestus project, it allows them to repair and make adjustments to their form, a living metal as Dr Possible called it."

"The Hephaestus project?" Dr Porter's eyes widened. "That makes so much more sense. I haven't had time to analyze the metal makeup, we were just focusing completely on the jamming, but if I remember Dr Possible's work, he said something about a limited number of frequencies that this project will work on."

The Director explained the situation as best she could. "Wade and Dr Possible are working on that right now, but they haven't been having any luck figuring out what frequency they need to jam. I hoped that maybe-"

Dr Possible's sure voice piped over the Director's headset. "We've narrowed down the frequency, it's between the fifteen and seventeen gigahertz range. We're still trying to figure it out exactly, but that should get you both started."

Betty looked up, then around, in confusion. "Have you been listening in?"

Wade's voice piped through. "I've got the world wired, Director. It wasn't too hard to hack into the security cameras at the space center, I figured it would let us help you with the jammer. Instead, we've been listening in." There was a pause, then a loud explosion, followed by frantic yelling. "Looks like you're on your own, Director, the Diablos have broken through." The line went dead after that.

The Director cursed, then looked at the two scientists. "You need to get that finished as fast as you can. Du and I will keep watch."

"Don't worry about that." Vivian looked to her robot, "He'll keep watch for us."

No sooner had the words left her mouth, than the robot was hit with a green blast, flinging the machine sideways, into the wall. It sparked and sputtered, the lights on its chassis dimming. Dr Porter gasped, starting to move towards it, but the Director put a hand out, stopping her, motioned towards the origin of the blast.

The 'gimpy' Diablo had gotten back to its feet, it's damage not withstanding. The machine started moving towards the Director, dragging its damaged leg behind it. The view was that much more startling as she looked at its head, the machine's outer hull charred and blackened, the metal covering completely missing. Now, it was simply a skull, eyes recessed and glowing eerily, she couldn't help but shiver and consider how much it looked like some sort of walking zombie. Despite its slow movement, it's weapon systems were still in peak working order.

Shoving Vivian behind her, she moved across the floor, firing back at the Diablo, trying to distract it. She got closer to Du, who had managed to take cover behind a thick table, Justine next to him. She passed Dr Porter over, then starting running to the side, away, hopefully keeping the robot's attention. For some reason, the Diablo seemed focused on her, its eyes glinting in the skull, following her carefully.

Not hesitated, she spun, rushing towards the door, pausing long enough to command Du to stay with the two scientists. As she led the Diablo out of the room, the Director yelled back to them, "Finish that Jammer, I'll keep this one busy!"

Betty ran through the halls, dodging blast after blast of weapons fire, the occasional shot managing to singe her hair and clothing. She gulped in air as she put all her skills to the test, mentally berating herself for spending too much time behind a desk. Finally she found herself in a manufacturing and testing area. She hid herself behind a line of shelves, listening to the robot rooting around, looking for her, upturning tables and knocking over different equipment. She heard a clanking from behind her, and realized the Diablo was shoving her shelf over. She dashed away as it fell.

The resounding noise of the shelves falling caused the director to wince, but she kept moving, doing her best to put some distance between her and the robot. She wove in and out, around, keeping herself moving as the Diablo tried to follow, breaking and smashing everything around. Suddenly the director realized the Diablo was no longer after her. Holding her breath, she turned around, looking around hesitantly.

Dr Director tried to figure out where the robot had gone, wondering if it had left to go back to the main lab. Her instincts warred with her, telling her the robot was still nearby, lurking it wait; but at the same time, she couldn't wait, because if the robot really had left, she needed to lure it elsewhere. She stood, creeping towards the door, as quickly as she could, without revealing her position. When no attack was forthcoming, she gave a small breath of relief, then reached her hand out for the door. She heard a scratching sound from behind her and spun.

Global Justice's director gave a yelp as she watched a spinning buzz saw arc through the air, nearly taking her head off. The attack sliced through some of her hair, and it fell to the ground She backed up, hitting the door behind her; realizing she was stuck, she tried to move forward, fake out the Diablo. Instead, it shot its clawed hand forward, open clipped hands grasping.

As the two metal clips closed around her throat, the Director grimaced, choking. The Diablo lifted her off her feet, squeezing tightly, spinning her around, away from her freedom; all it understood was that she was a threat, a dangerous figure that had caused setbacks to Dr Drakken's plan. It squeezed tighter, lifting her to its face, the skulls head and flashing eyes inches from the director's own face.

She gasped, clawing at her throat, her fingers touching the metal clips, pulling, straining as she tried to take a breath. Realizing she'd never get enough leverage, she instead tried to pull out her sidearm. She pulled it out, reaching and grasping a full energy clip, she tried to reload her weapon, but fumbled, nearly dropping it. Finally she managed to get the weapon ready, then lifted it, firing repeatedly. The shots seemed to do nothing to the Diablo, and she felt her breath hitching in her throat as her vision started to gray. Wincing with effort, she lifted her weapon to place it against the robot's clawed grip, then pulled the trigger.

The clip gripping her throat shattered at the impact, dropping her to her knees. She gasped raggedly, taking in quick breaths, trying to get some air in her lungs. She tried to lurch to her feet, instead falling backwards, her legs unable to support her. She backed up, clawing at the ground as she raised her sidearm, firing at the robot. The blasts didn't do anything, deflecting off at strange angles; she wondered why this Diablo seemed to be so much tougher than the others.

Finally looking upwards, over its head, she got an idea. She lifted and fired above her, above the Diablo. Her blasts came in rapid succession, then there was a shuddering pop. She watched as a large engine above her seemed to waver a bit, then finally fall, the supports holding it giving out. The large machine dropped quickly, landing on the Diablo, smashing it down into the ground.

Shivering, she watching the machine catch the robot in its back, slamming it down into the ground. Surprisingly, that still wasn't enough to destroy the robot, and it snatched its hand outward, trying to grab a hold of her, despite the machine smashing it into the ground. She raised her sidearm, cranking up the power again, firing at its head; a number of quick, well placed shots bored into its chassis, reducing it to scrap metal.

The Director laid back with a sigh, trying to catch her breath. She finally pushed herself backwards on the ground, then up to her feet. She walked over to the Diablo, inspecting it, and ensuring that it was disabled. By all signs, it was dead, and even if the Hephaestus project was able to repair it, it would take quite a while. She started to turn and leave, when she paused, a small marking on the machine catching her eye.

Dropping to one knee next to the charred frame, she rubbed a gloved hand over the metal, brushing away some of the soot, noticing that there seemed to be something stamped on the robot. Delta-1. She frowned, wondering what it could mean. A model number, perhaps? Based on the low number, she wondered if it was a prototype. That might explain why it seemed to be so much tougher than the others. Shaking her head, she turned and left the room, heading back to the lab.

As she left, the robot's eyes glowed brightly.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N** Final chapter. Thanks to Eddy 13 for beta checking._

* * *

Dr Director made her way back to the lab, only to hear the sound of weapon's fire. She quickly burst into a run, entering the lab, and immediately diving behind some cover. Du and the two scientists were under attack by a handful of Diablos, the machines keeping them pinned down. Both Justine and Vivian were bent over their contraption, messing with the wires, before finally looking up. Spotting the Director, Porter yelled across the room.

"We can't pin down the frequency! We're having to go through each wavelength, hoping it will shut these things down." As she spoke, Justine kept fiddling with the dials and switches. The robots got closer, and Du was beginning to run low on charge for his weapon. The robots had just reached his cover, and started to move around it, when they froze, stutter stepping, then shrinking down into their miniscule size.

Vivian looked at her friend. "Justine, you got it! Great work."

"Not really." She messed with the device some more. "I still haven't locked down the frequency. It wasn't me."

Dr Porter frowned. "Then who...?"

"Dr Director? This is Kim Possible."

"Kim?" Betty cocked her head, looking over at Will. "What happened? Did you stop Drakken?"

The teen's voice came back, the slightest bit piqued. _"Ron_ and I managed to foil Drakken's plot. We destroyed the broadcasting tower, and without a command signal, the Diablos have shut down." The director heard some mumbling, and then Kim was speaking again. "Ron's got Drakken, and I'm not sure about Shego, but she shouldn't be a problem. We'll look for her, but in the mean time, can you send someone here to arrest them?"

"Hold on a moment, Kim." Betty put in a call to one of her agents, and soon was talking to officer Hobble. The director explained the situation, and he told her that he would see to it personally, gathering his team of policemen, and the GJ agents he had on hand, setting off for Bueno Nacho HQ. Betty acknowledged, as did Kim, and signed off, turned back to the group in the space center. "Looks like that's it."

After closing the connection, Dr Director looked at the pile of small Diablos spread across the floor, grumbling to herself. "The cleanup on this is going to be fun. Probably have to melt these things down to make sure no one can use them again. At least it's over."

There was a crash from behind her, and she spun, good eye wide in surprise. The gimpy Diablo stood facing her, its frame completely repaired, even its gait corrected; only the scorch marks, and the Delta inscription let her know it was the same robot. Her weapon came up instantly, firing at the Diablo, Du joined her fire after only a second. The robot responded with its own blast of weapons fire, and the two agents were forced to split up.

Dr Porter made a mad scramble across the ground, attempting to get away from the crazed robot. Justine, on the other hand, was so focused on her device that she paid the attack no mind. Du had to rush towards her, pulling her out of the way and behind some more cover. Meanwhile, the Director was doing her best to distract it, firing repeatedly at its shell. Her weapon clicked empty, and she had to dive sideways as it fired a burst of flame at her.

With her back to a computer console, Betty quickly put in her last energy charge, mentally crossing her fingers that it would be enough to stop the Diablo. She peeked her head around the corner, looking as it seemed to focus on the disable Diablos. The director watched as well, intrigued, as they began vibrating, then sprang to life. She stared in surprise. Now there were a half dozen of the destructive robots back operational. She studied the formerly gimpy robot closely, then tapped her headset, whispering in.

"Dawes, what's the status on those Diablos?"

His voice came through to her, laced with pride, although a bit confused at her tone. "We're rounding them up right now, Director, and securing them in the vault."

"They aren't operation, then?"

Now his confusion was much more evident. "Operational? Kim and Ron destroyed the command signal, they're all dead. I'm holding one in my hand, right now."

Betty looked around the corner again, noting the Diablos spreading out. For whatever reason, these Diablos were operational again. She focused on the lead robot, quickly dubbing it Delta, after its model, and explained in hushed tones to Dawes what was going on. He was concerned, and instantly got to work on putting a team together to support her. She knew it wouldn't reach them in time, and started to stand, to fire at the diablos. Hopefully, she could take out the others, and maybe draw Delta off.

To the director's surprise, the Diablos seemed to shrink at the same time she stood. She heard a cheer from behind one of the other tables, watching as Justine stood up, the jamming device in her hand. "I figured out the signal." Her eyes widened as Delta, the only operational Diablo, turned to her, firing. Du barely managed to pull her down in time.

Running through the events in her head, her eye widened. The Diablos were disable, Delta had focused on them, and they had become operational again. Was it some sort of command robot? She didn't have time to consider the implications, firing a handful of shots that caught the machine's attention. It spun, firing back at her; its weapons seemed to be operating at full capacity, as she ducked, the shot blew a hole through a number of walls, going so far as to reveal the outside. Returning fire, the director made a dash for the hole, pausing as she realized that it had focused away from her, and back on Justine.

Du did his best to drive the Diablo back, while the blond tried to escape. She tripped, the jammer slipping from her fingers. Fortunately, Dr Porter was able to catch the device; she gave a small yelp as Delta focused its attention on her next. Betty grimaced, yelling to the scientist. "The jammer! It's focused on the jammer! Give it to me!"

The scientist nodded, quickly hefting the device through the air. Betty gasped, barely managing to catch it, she quickly tucked it under one arm, then ran out the hole in the side of the wall, the Diablo in hot pursuit. She ran full out down the street, hearing a number of shots behind her, the higher pitched GJ sidearm fire mixing with the low thrum of the Diablo's weaponry. She looked back over her shoulder, noting Du firing at the robot chasing her. Delta spun, its arms high as it fired a glowing green blast that hit the agent dead center in the chest. He let loose a cry and collapsed, as Justine rushed towards him. By them, the Director had gotten enough of a lead she didn't dare go back.

Betty ran full tilt down the road, panting a bit at her exertions-this was turning out to be a heck of a night, and it wasn't over yet. She was forced to weave in and out, around parked and disabled cars, the sounds of the Diablo's weapon fire following her. She watched cars explode, chunks of road fly through the air, even a building collapse as she got into town.

The Director managed to get her back behind a parked van, she took a couple of deep breaths, gasping, before running off again; she reached up to hit her headset, quickly asking, "What's the ETA on that team of agents?"

"Five minutes, and they'll be geared up and on their way." Dawes frowned. "Do you want me to send over Kim and Ron, and see if they can help?"

"No!" She panted, barely outrunning the machine. It was a point of pride now, she couldn't let this thing beat her, her teams, she wouldn't be reduced to calling for their help. "Leave...leave them be."

Now there was a trace of concern in his voice. "Do you need help, that badly, Betty?" All the answer he got was her gasping breathing.

Dr Director left the channel open on her radio, as she continued her evasions, still trying to come up with some sort of idea of what to do. By this point, the storm, moving swiftly from Bueno Nacho HQ, had made its way to Middleton, and was dropping buckets of water. The director paused long enough to yell up to the heavens. "How do I stop this thing?" A rumble from behind let her know the thing was still following, so she took off again, racking her brain, trying to figure out a plan.

She ran back out in to the middle of the street, past another parked car, as she heard the steady thrum of a GJ hoverjet. She smiled, looking up, waving her hand quickly, watching the aircraft coming in with agents to assist. They had no sooner gotten into to sight range, than a blast from behind her took the jet in the side, ripping its port engine clean off. The jet spiraled, before slamming into a highrise two blocks away. Fortunately, the jet didn't explode, but was lodged in the building-again leaving Betty without any assistance.

Spinning in anger, she raised her sidearm, firing a dozen shots at the Diablo, riddling its armor with holes; unfortunately, they were repaired just as quickly. She fired again and again, but it just kept coming. She would have stuck her ground indefinitely, except she heard a hum, and felt the vibrations in her sidearm that let her know she was low on charge. A quick check had her realizing that she was down to a handful of shots. Cursing, she turned and ran off, again, her quick pace taking her into a large construction site.

She ran past a number of beams, bags of sand and rivets, before looking over her shoulder to judge how far ahead of the Diablo she was. Two rapid steps after turning her head, she tripped over something, finding herself on her chest, a bag of quick setting concrete in front of her face. She nearly ignored it, before an idea hit her. Rolling on her side, she watched as the Diablo got closer, before she made another mad dash forward, looking for something to help her. Finally she spotted it, a large crane over head.

Raising her side arm, she fired of a few shots, trying to hit the pulley at the end of the crane. Four shots later, she managed to hit it, causing a pile of bricks, morter, and iron beams to fall directly on the Diablo, smashing it into the ground. Wincing at the noise, Betty turned, and started looking for a way to implement her idea. Finally she spotted exactly what she needed, crossing her fingers as she took off at a run, hearing the Diablo trying to break out of the rubble behind her.

She ran forward, until she managed to come upon a large hole in the ground, easily as wide and tall as the Diablo, a large concrete mixer just on the other side. She ran around, inspecting it, looking around and spotting some of the concrete mix nearby. She hefted a bag up and in, then threw a second one in to join in, quickly flipping the machine on to high. She ran back around the hole, towards the Diablo, directly in front of it as it finally broke out of its confines. The machine seemed to glare at her, its eyes glowing eerily.

Looking at the Diablo facing her, the director frowned, waiting, waiting...it finally made a quick dash towards her. She sidestepped at the last second, watching the robot slide forward, in front of her, then dropping into the recessed box in the ground. She spun, firing off her last shot, praying that it would work.

The blast hit the concrete mixer perfectly, causing the cement to pour out over the Diablo. The quick hardening substance filled the space around the Diablo, coating it up to the waist, then further, finally coating over its head. The material solidified quickly, forming a hard, cement shell over the Diablo. Betty waited, holding her breath, waiting to see if the Diablo would be able to break free.

One minute turned into three, then ten, and she finally approached close to the cement block to see what was going on. She looked at the cement, noting that it had gone completely solid. She leaned down, pressing her ear to the concrete, hearing a very faint humming. She pulled back, realizing; the Diablo was still inside, still active, but the cement must have hardened inside its weapon system, in effect locking the weapon down. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realized she had finally stopped it.

X X X X

An few hours later, the Director finally found herself back at GJ headquarters. After stopping the Diablo by sealing it in concrete, she had made a call back to Dawes in the command center, explaining the situation; he, in turn, had contact other government agencies to start recovery operations. She had then backtracked to the recently downed hoverjet, and found her agents shaken up, but otherwise unharmed.

Once that was done, she had found another GJ hoverjet waiting for her and the team. They had boarded it, and made their way off to Bueno Nacho Headquarters, so she could supervise the capture and arrest of Drakken and Shego. She arrived to find that both villains, as well as a number of henchmen, had already been put in a police van; she spotted Kim and Ron, together, and started towards them to congratulate them, but stopped up short as she watched Kim grab Ron's hand, and give him an almost playful grin, before tugging him off to the scooter. Betty frowned for a second, then smiled, noting the way Kim was acting. She wondered who had just won the GJ pool.

Shaking her head briefly, she turned back to business, focusing on getting Drakken and Shego secured, as well as taking stock of the Diablo situation. Finally, she assigned a dozen agents to help guard the villains, and escort them back to base. She frowned as she watched them leave; she would have preferred to give the task to Will Du, but he had been rushed to Middleton Hospital with sever upper chest burns; he had been taken in unconscious, but that was a mercy for him, at the burns. Fortunately, the doctors had indicated he was in good hands, being watched over by Dr Possible herself; Kim's mother had contacted Betty just minutes ago, indicating he would make a full recovery.

For once, the director was glad that Will Du was such a stickler for regulations. Many agents, after getting comfortable with their tasks and mission, took to forgoing their armored under-vest when going out in the field; a slight violation of regulations, but when many of their tasks are just information gathering, or simple, low-danger escort missions, it was understandable that they didn't want to carry around the extra fifteen pounds of body armor. Du, however, always wore his, regardless of his task, be it diplomatic, or dangerous. It had saved his life; an attack that should have killed him had 'merely' fused the metal plate to his chest.

Once the director was finished with her tasks, she had managed to get a ride with one of the hoverjet, and made it back to GJ HQ. She laid her head back with a sigh, taking a very deep breath, trying to release her tension over the situation. Finally, Betty looked at her watch, rubbing a hand across her face. 5:58. It had only been six hours since she had first been alerted to the problem of the little Diablos. So much had happened in the short time, and she felt completely drained. She slumped in her command chair, barely lifting her head as Dawes approached her with a steaming drink. He chuckled, placing it on the small table next to her.

"You looked wiped out, Betty. Has it been that long since your agent days?"

She groaned, reaching for the drink, missing it, then finally getting a hold of it. She sipped the hot coffee slowly, closing her eye briefly as she let the caffeine work its magic. She opened her eye to look at him. "In case you haven't noticed, I spend more time in this chair than I do out in the field. Unlike some 'directors' I know."

He tapped his chest. "Hey, I have to stay in shape."

She shook her head back. "You know that's not what I mean." She waved her drink around, before pointing it at him. "You and me, tomorrow, first thing in the morning, sparring. Don't let me get out of it."

He saluted sharply, "Your wish is my command, Ma'am."

She growled, "Cut that out, buster, or our first match will have your arms tied behind your back."

Dawes chuckled, before sitting on the edge of the counter nearby, and looked at her. "So, as our teen friend likes to say, 'What's the sitch?'"

"Mixed." Betty shook her head. "We're going to get a lot of flak for this, we're an intelligence gathering agency as much as anything, we should have seen this coming." She waved her hand. "But, at the same time, none of the world's governments saw it coming, either, so we're sort of off the hook."

He nodded, "And yet, I sense that doesn't make you happy."

There was a pause, before the director stood up, finally letting her anger take hold of her. Her hand tightened on the coffee cup, squeezing it; she looked down at it, frowning, before giving a curse, throwing the cup at the wall, the mug shattering and splattering coffee all over. "How did this happen? Are we that useless, that it takes a high school girl to save the world? I'd be the first to argue that Kim is the best freelance agent I've ever seen, but something like this should never have happened. Not on my watch."

Dawes nodded slowly, serious. "Your watch? Don't you mean our watch, Betty?" He gave a small, humorless chuckle, "GJ isn't just you, Director, you've got agents at your call, people to help you, to help this agency. The blame doesn't lie entirely with you."

"Well it should." She grimaced, "Have I been getting complacent, letting things slide because we've got Kim Possible around? It used to be GJ that took care of all the small time and big time villains, everyone from Frugal Lucre to Drakken or Dementor-but now we rely on a high school junior to do our work for us."

He smirked at her. "That sounds a lot like a certain former super-hero and her brothers, and the GJ liaison that used to fight crime across the globe. Weren't they supposed to be situated only in Go City?"

Betty growled and glared at him. "That's not the same and you know it. Global Justice was in its infancy, we had barely fifty agents. We needed Team Go, and the work they did, but they overshadowed GJ. It wasn't until they disbanded that Global Justice became the agency it was supposed to be."

Dawes stood, before walking around beside her. "You don't have to tell me, Betty, I was there. But that fact of the matter is, you couldn't see what was going to happen then, and you couldn't see what was going to happen tonight. Don't forget, Director, it's still possible to make all the right moves, and still lose. You just have to learn from your mistakes, and choices, and make sure you do better next time."

He continued. "And as for Kim? Face it, she enjoys what she does, and it frees GJ up for other tasks." Dawes gave a small smirk, "Wasn't it just a few short years ago that you were complaining about not having enough agents to deal with everything being forced on Global Justice?"

She nodded, slowly, before leaning back into her chair further. "Remind me again why I'm sitting in this chair, and you aren't?"

"Because that's the hardest chair in the base, and it has absolutely no lumbar support." He smirked at her glare. Serious now, he nodded, "Because it's where you deserve to be, and it's where you can make the biggest difference."

She pouted back, "I still say you make a better director."

Dawed laughed at that, "Maybe, but you make a better face for GJ." He slowly sat back down, looking over at her, "Feeling better?"

Betty sighed, and nodded, "Yeah, I just hate dealing with this sort of stuff, the bureaucracy, the inquiries. What happened to the simple days, where you just caught the villain and threw them in jail?"

"That's Kim's job now."

The Director stood, "And mine is to look at the big picture. What's the status on the new GJ prison?"

Her friend frowned. "It's been finished almost two weeks, Director, we're already moving super villains into it. So far it seems to be doing a good job at holding everyone, and we're consolidating all the villains inside. Did you miss the memo?"

She just rolled her eye again, "Now you see how busy I've been lately." She rubbed her hands together, "All right, make sure that Drakken and Shego get there, and are secured in suitable cells."

Dawes nodded. "And Delta?" They had both taken to calling the unusual Diablo by its model name.

She sighed again. "The Smiths came, and had it shipped off to Area 51 for safekeeping."

The other man finally let some anger show. "Don't they know what they're dealing with? That thing's dangerous."

She waved a hand. "Of course it is, and they know that. They assured me they were taking 'All security precautions.' Hopefully it won't blow up in their faces. Regardless, it's out of our hands now, Dawes."

He let loose a few choice comments about the Agents Smith, and secret government agencies, before shaking his head. "It's too dangerous to leave any of those Diablos activated, but there's nothing we can do about it now. I'll try and go through official channels, and see if I can get Delta back in GJ custody."

She nodded, "Good luck with that, but I don't hold out much hope." She smiled briefly, "At least we'll have Kim's help when that thing does break out again." She paused, before grinning even wider, "Speaking of Kim and Ron, I guess congratulation are in order, Dawes, it looks like you won the dating pool."

"I did?" He smirked, "Go ahead and put all the money in the GJ scholarship fund."

"That's so typical of you." She walked around past him, pausing. "Before I get to the reports that go with tonight, I think I'll get something to eat. Care to join me?"

He smiled back. "Why, I'd be delighted, Madame Director. But I thought you preferred to keep a 'professional' relationship with all your agents. Something about not letting them get too close."

"That won't be a problem," she retorted, standing. "You and I are as close at we're going to get."

He clutched his chest. "You wound me, Betty. Anyone would think that you hate me." He sighed, before linking his arm with hers in a gentlemanly gesture. "And if I intend to get a little closer?"

She chuckled, "You'll have to talk with my husband about that."

Dawes grumbled as he followed her out of the room.

* * *

_**A/N** Well, that's it, three chapters of a crazy Night of the Diablos. A few more hints of things to come, and some important characters that'll show up again as I get to work on my other stories. Otherwise, I'm still working on the sequel to Stratagem-good news, I've got a handful of chapters done-bad news, I still have quite a bit to write before I'm done, and a lot of revisions planned, so it'll be a while before you get to read any of it._


End file.
